Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 post-credits scenes explained

By now, most film fans know that when the credits roll on a Marvel Studios movie, the real fun is about to begin. That's because Marvel loves to set up future franchise installments with teasers, Easter eggs, and inside jokes "hidden" in scenes during the credits. Usually, this means one or two small bits during or after the credits, but with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, James Gunn has taken things to a whole new level with five—yes, five!—credits scenes. Some are important, and some are just goofy, but either way, we've got you covered with the explanation for every credits scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

And just in case you don't have a talking raccoon to explain this to you: spoilers ahead.

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The Arrow

In the first credits scene, which is technically before the credits, Yondu's righthand man Kraglin dons Yondu's robotic fin to try and harness the power of the arrow. Of course, it goes horribly wrong. It looks like a funny scene, but actually this is all a very complicated Easter egg referencing the ascension of Kang the Conqueror in Avengers Forever #9, and … no, just kidding. This scene is exactly what it seemed like: a really funny one-off joke. Although several of the credits scenes are laden with secret meaning, they don't all have to be.

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The Original Guardians

Unlike the first credits scene, the second is jam-packed with Marvel lore. Those random folks who show up for Yondu's funeral? They aren't random at all. Most of them are actually members of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team from the 1970s comic books. Stakar (Sylvester Stallone), Martinex (Michael Rosenbaum), Aleta (Michelle Yeoh), and Charlie-27 (Ving Rhames) are all original flavor Guardians, while Mainframe (Miley Cyrus) and Krugarr (made out of CGI movie magic) are also important characters in the old school Guardians of the Galaxy comic book universe. Neat.

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Adam Warlock

If you were wondering why the people in your theater erupted with screams of pure joy during the third credits scene, the answer is Adam Warlock, the mystery being inside the metal cocoon built by the vengeful high priestess, Ayesha. Marvel fans have been eagerly awaiting Warlock's arrival in the movie universe because the gold-skinned cosmic savior has been a key player in basically every important Thanos storyline in comics history. Adam Warlock is Thanos' archenemy, an avatar of life dedicated to stopping Thanos and his obsession with death. With Thanos set to finally take center stage in 2018's Avengers: Inifinty War, fans have been wondering how Marvel would manage to tell the story without Adam Warlock. Now everyone can finally rest easy—if they can stop hyperventilating.

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I am Groot

Like the first one, the fourth credits scene is pretty much a self-explanatory joke about Baby Groot growing up to become Teen Groot. It's probably safe to assume that we'll be seeing Teen Groot the next time we run into the Guardians. But considering this brief clip is funnier than just about any half-hour family sitcom on primetime television right now, we can't be the only ones hoping ABC develops a Teen Groot spinoff, can we? A TV spinoff might be the only way we'll see more of Baby Groot, too.

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Stan the Man

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For nearly 20 years now, Stan Lee has been making cameos in Marvel movies. As a result, a fan theory developed along the way that Stan isn't actually playing different characters, but instead is a disguised member of the alien race known as The Watchers, who observe and record stories of mankind without interfering in events. Now Lee and director James Gunn have confirmed it with this fantastic credits-scene wink and nod. In it, Stan is telling a group of Watchers about all the stories he's participated in—which, of course, are the other Marvel movies. It further proves what we've known all along: Stan truly is The Man.